


under your skin

by mymphr



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Tattoos, my nerdy kids, tendo is like. mentioned., this is like. during canon i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 20:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6625021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mymphr/pseuds/mymphr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>no one had ever found a way into newt's heart before. the very fact that it had finally happened seemed significant enough for something permanent. </p><p>---</p><p>just a nerdy one-shot 'cause i felt like it. newt is hopelessly in love, and this is the only way i think he knows to show it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	under your skin

Unless one or both of them had been awake for more than 24 hours, the lab was, most mornings, graced with Hermann’s presence before Newt’s. Today was no exception. Today, in fact, Newt was later than usual, and Hermann was on the edge of finding Tendo and asking if he knew anything about where Newt was. If anyone other than Hermann would know, it would be Tendo. Hermann had lost count of the times Tendo had popped his head into the lab to announce that Newt was coming in (‘cause fuck, it would take an apocalypse to stop Newt coming in - actually, even that wouldn’t do it, ‘cause then he’d want to come in more, so maybe it would take the world suddenly being extremely boring, who really knows) but that Hermann would have to deal with an immense hangover. 

As Hermann manoeuvred down his ladder, the door opened. He whipped round, one foot on the floor, and frowned as he locked eyes with Newt. 

As was custom, Newt grinned. He clicked his teeth and shot a fingergun in Hermann’s direction - Hermann rolled his eyes and dropped his other foot to the floor, grabbing his cane. He turned, and stood, waiting expectantly, before looking at his watch. 

“A record, Newton. Very impressive. It’s lunch in, what, five minutes?” 

“Ah, you know how I roll, Herms. Your boring calculated time does nothin’ for me. I’m more on a kind of internal clock. I don’t get off on schedules like you do.” He winked, at the end of that sentence, and though Hermann could feel a slight blush rise on his cheeks, he scoffed.

“Of course.” He turned back to his board, picking up a piece of chalk he’d dropped and reading over what he’d written. 

Newt grinned, trotting over to his side of the room. There barely needed to be tape down the centre, anymore. The line between cleanliness and an absolute mess was clear enough. Where Hermann pushed aside stacks of paper and the odd stray pen, Newt was digging through piles of medical gloves, and occasionally a piece of flesh that had flown off and dried up on a desk somewhere without him noticing. Sometimes he’d chuck (perfectly sterile) pieces of kaiju across the room when he was done with them, and try to get them to stick to Hermann’s blackboard - like one of those little sticky jelly things he’d played with as a kid. It never failed to make him crack up, and Hermann absolutely furious. 

Today, though, Newt was excited. He took off his jacket and threw down his stuff onto a desk already covered in crap. 

“Hey, Herms?” he yelled. 

“What now?” came the long suffering reply. 

Hermann was starting to put on a jacket as Newt skipped back over to him, preparing to leave for lunch. 

“No, no, dude, hold up. I gotta show you something.” 

Hermann’s expression fell into something between curiosity and fear. 

“It can’t wait half an hour?” 

“No, dude!” 

With a deep sigh, Hermann leaned back against his blackboard. He was vaguely conscious that there would be chalk rubbing against his jacket, but it wouldn’t be the first time. He watched Newt pottering about behind a desk, wondering what on earth could be so important. 

“Alright, alright. You ready?” 

“I suppose.” 

Newt stood in front of him, and then… spun? He had his back turned to Hermann, and then he was unbuckling his pants, and Hermann yelped, covering his eyes. 

“Newton!” Though Hermann had covered his eyes, he could feel Newt looking at him. 

“Hermann!” he laughed, “You’ve seen me naked before, dude. Like, a lot. This is not new.” 

“But not… not here.” 

“Hermann.” he heard Newt’s voice soften, and gingerly removed the hand from his eyes. “We’re not gonna do anything here. I don’t think a room filled with sharp objects and kaiju guts is really the best place to fuck.” Hermann started at that, instinctually wanting to shut Newt up. “Unless you’re into that, I guess.” Hermann just frowned, and Newt chuckled. “No, but seriously. That’s not what this is.” 

Hermann sighed, heavily, and leaned back against the board. He nodded, eventually, for Newt to carry on, and he did. With a look over his shoulder at Hermann, he pushed down his absurdly skinny jeans - careful to keep one hand on his boxers as he did so. He pulled very carefully at his left leg, peeling the fabric away from the back of his thigh. 

And, as he did so, and as he shifted the bottom of his boxers, Hermann saw it. Just under his buttock, on the back of his thigh. A new tattoo, one Hermann knew he’d never seen before. It was a hand, cupped, planets and moons and stars sat in the palm. The colours in the planets were beautiful. Hermann felt his heart leap, one hand involuntarily going to his chest. Without even really thinking, he was stepping closer, bending down to see better - and oh, he was so glad he had, because the lines on the planets told him exactly what each one was, and that Newt had spent so much longer thinking about this than he needed to. He’d picked out planets Hermann cared about, or that he’d done work about, and somehow the tattoo was so very Newt but also so very Hermann. 

“Do you, uh, like it? I mean, you always say my tattoos are kind of ridiculous but they’re mine so you don’t mind, but. I dunno, I kind of… yeah.” 

Hermann stood up, and became acutely aware that there were tears in his eyes. 

“Did you do this for me?” 

Newt was silent, for a moment, looking down, clearing his throat. 

“I mean, yeah. I didn’t really care about space before we started talking. And, to be honest, it’s still not as big a deal to me as, like, kaiju and stuff, but you care so much about it and that leaks into me and makes me realise how cool it is, and then whenever someone talks about space it makes me think of you.” He didn’t look at Hermann while he spoke, a little redness in his cheeks, more vulnerable than Hermann had seen him in a long time. “Plus, it’s really beautiful, so that makes me think of you too.” 

There was silence again, until Hermann knelt back down. 

“Can I touch it?” 

“If you’re gentle. I only got it yesterday. Or, like, last night.” 

Hermann hesitantly placed his finger against the finger of the hand in the tattoo, tracing the line along to the wrist. Then he touched each planet, one by one, counting them even though he already knew how many there were. He couldn’t get over the colour, the vibrancy and the way it blended the two of them together into one beautiful mess. 

“They say you shouldn’t get couples tattoos.” 

“It’s not a couples tattoo. It’s a tattoo that’s fuckin’ cool and you just happened to be the inspiration for it. So, like, be proud of yourself.” 

Hermann stood, again, and - once again, because his brain was in goddamn meltdown mode - without thinking he took Newt’s face in his hands and kissed him. It was gentle, but firm, the love in his chest trying to burst out and find its way to Newt. Newt jumped, but kissed back, one of his hands bracing himself on Hermann’s waist. He pulled away, after a moment, resting their foreheads together. 

“You like it?” 

“It’s beautiful, Newton. It’s - it’s so very you, it fits so well against your skin, but somehow I’m blended perfectly into it. You found a way to let me get under your skin.” 

Then they were kissing again, and Newt turned round to let Hermann hold him properly. Hermann was pushing him back into the desk, desperate to show him the glow in his heart one way or another. Then Newt pulled back again, frowning at Hermann. 

“I meant it about us not doing anything here, by the way.” 

“I know.” Hermann smiled, tugging up Newt’s trousers for him. “Later, you’ll let me study that tattoo.”

“Deal.” Newt kissed him on the nose, and Hermann frowned. He didn’t have time to scold him before Newt was running to the door, daring Hermann to chase him to lunch. Hermann sighed, rolled his eyes, but then ran after him anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading ovo 
> 
> if you want anymore nerdy tattoo based newt/hermann then. maybe let me know??? i love tattoos and i love newt/hermann so. i'm into it


End file.
